bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

Travel is fun and all, but jet lag can put a real damper on your holiday – and can leave you in a mental haze that can lead to agonising disruptions when you get home.
What’s the answer? Top of the list is heavy hydration and quickly adopting the meal times and sleep patterns of your destination.
Here are some top tips from medical professionals and avid long-distance travellers.
1. Before you get there ...
“Rule No. 1: Stay on local time,” said Dr Robert Winters of Santa Monica, who deals with long-distance travellers as medical director of Westside Travel and Immunisations Inc. “[Experts] say to minimise alcohol, but one drink can help you relax.
“Eye shades and earplugs are key while flying,” he added.
Instead of watching movies or reading on planes, Winters favours sleeping, particularly on overnight flights. “I might take an Ambien or melatonin. I don’t do both.”
Winters recommended 3 to 5 milligrams of melatonin, an over-the-counter supplement that triggers sleep.
2. Help your body clock
When it comes to waking up, sleep experts at the Mayo Clinic recommend light therapy – either natural sunlight or a lamp – when you’re travelling east. Conversely, experts there urge westbound travellers to draw the blinds in a time zone where the sun is staying up longer than you are accustomed.
Best exercises for when you’re jet-lagged and need to move
Body clocks are tricky timepieces, and tough to reset quickly, experts said. During jet lag, cells in two parts of the brain fall out of sync. The health journal Medical News Today said the older the traveller, the worse the symptoms and the longer it takes to recover.
Among veteran travellers, conventional wisdom is that every time zone crossed requires a day of recovery. So a nine-hour time change on a trip from Rome would require nine days to rebound once you return home.
The issue is significant enough that aircraft makers are adjusting cabin pressures to help offset symptoms. For instance, Boeing’s 787 is now pressurised at 6,000 feet, 2,000 feet lower than most other aircraft. Altitude chamber tests show that the body absorbs more oxygen into the blood this way, and passengers experience fewer headaches and less fatigue.
Prevention is better than a cure
Although there is no sure cure for jet lag, prevention can make a difference in the severity of symptoms. Frequent fliers cite the benefits of lots and lots of water.

via GIPHY
“I drink water the minute I get off the plane,” said Mary Garripoli of Los Angeles. “For the first 24 hours, just water, no iced tea, no wine. When I come home, it’s the same thing.”
“I was a flight attendant for many years,” said Patricia Dotzler, also of Los Angeles. “I found that drinking a lot of water starting three days before departure, plus during and after flights … then taking a good walk after arriving at the hotel helped a lot.”
Adjust your watch immediately
Like Winters, travel blogger Suzanne Stavert recommended adjusting to local schedules when you get to your destination.
Friendcations – how to travel with pals, and still like each other afterwards
“The absolute best way to get over jet lag is to get on local time immediately,” Stavert said. “Do not nap. Stay hydrated, and go to sleep around 9pm the first night of the trip and wake up at a normal local time. It has worked for me travelling to any time zone all over the world.”
“My dad, who worked in travel for 40 years, gave me one tip: plan to get in to your destination in the afternoon and force yourself to stay up until a relatively normal early bedtime in the country where you’re staying,” said financial journalist Kathy Kristof of La Canada Flintridge.

This article was curated by Young Post.



How travel can help slow ageing by boosting mental, physical health and relieving stress

How Hong Kong’s airport handles bags, what to do if yours is damaged after viral Cathay clip

How to say place names most get wrong, from Laos and Leicester to New Orleans and Oaxaca

What a flight to Israel as a tourist is like during the war with Hamas, on as cheap a ticket as possible

Travel Advice for Millennials

How to avoid jet lag – or at least make it a less debilitating part of your travel

Follow these simple rules, and you’ll avoid the dreaded post-trip, zombie-like state

This image may be republished, Woman on plane wearing eye mask or eye shade, using earplugs

6 gorgeous travel spots for the best ‘eat, pray, love’ holiday of your life

Vikasa Yoga Retreat, Koh Samui. The Thai island has many meditation camps and treats to offer. Photo: Instagram/@thaijito.kohsamui

View from the Backs in the city of Cambridge on a winters day. Photo: Getty Images

The stunning, unspoilt beaches of Ibiza, in Spain are one of the not-to-be-missed attractions of the year-round holiday destination. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Travel tech for digital nomads: from mobile Wi-fi and fast chargers to solar-powered backpacks

If you’re a digital nomad it’s essential you have the right technology that will help provide reliability, security and affordability. Photo: Alamy

Handout image shows  Meredith Valentine.[07SEPTEMBER2019 FEATURES]

PowerIQ 3.0 Mobile Charger (anker.com),

Voltaic Systems Array Rapid Solar Backpack Charger

Roost laptop stand

Handout image shows a Skyroam, a mobile wifi hotspot device.[07SEPTEMBER2019 FEATURES]

B1X0P0 Inuit women walking with children in Grise Fiord, Nunavut, Canada. North America's Furthest Northern Community.. Image shot 2007. Exact date unknown.

Better Life

Travel

How to


Medical experts and seasoned travellers weigh in on the top tips to avoid being a zombie when you arrive



Travel & Leisure